One side doesn't seem interested in fiscal-cliff compromise

Since having their sails trimmed in the November election, House Republicans have proposed a number of ways to avoid the year-end’s fiscal cliff – the combination of massive tax increases on all taxpaying Americans and blunt across-the-board spending cuts that would endanger defense readiness.

House Speaker John Boehner has proposed several concessions – including heretofore unacceptable rate increases on top wage earners. Boehner’s willingness to compromise on taxes without getting Democrats to budge on spending has even angered his base.

Yet, the White House keeps moving the goal posts – and this week Democrats even rejected a Boehner “Plan B” that Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi herself had floated earlier this year.

Democrats now claim that Pelosi was only fooling when she made the proposal to raise rates on millionaires earlier this year. And they claim that Boehner’s proposal is also a ploy – even though taxing millionaires and billionaires is what the president based his entire campaign on.

It’s hard to negotiate with a party that finds its own past proposals unacceptable.

We hope the Democrats aren’t simply negotiating in bad faith in an effort to bring on the fiscal cliff – only to then blame Republicans and score political points when we go over it.

Democrats may realize, cynically enough, that most Americans won’t be watching the daily details of these negotiations – and therefore may not notice the games being played.

Republicans have signaled a willingness to raise income tax rates on the country’s top wage earners, even with no corresponding and specific spending cuts. That’s a huge compromise.

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Is Obama opening his mouth? Well then he is lying to push his agenda. The press, of course, will not call Obama on his prevarications and the press ignores Boehner's compromises. America does not have a revenue problem it has a spending problem!

It's hard to negotiate with a party whose only answer to everything is, "If we just give millionaires and billionaires more tax cuts they'll create millions of jobs, the deficit and debt will be eliminated, there'll be world peace, dogs and cats will lie down together, .....".

Techfan....it is obvious you have not even read Boeners proposal. Your hyperbole all but proves you don't know what you are talking about.

What is hard to negotiate with is a President who says "we must raise tax rates on the rich and not cut spending." It doesn't matter if he is given a proposal that increases actual revenue, because his real goal is to just punish the rich, not lower the debt.

"We hope the Democrats aren’t simply negotiating in bad faith in an effort to bring on the fiscal cliff – only to then blame Republicans and score political points when we go over it."

Sadly, that is exactly their goal! They can then blame the right for "increasing taxes" on everyone, then when they later "compromise" and reactivate the very same cut rates, even if only on the bottom tier, they will get to claim, and the media will gladly give, full credit for "cutting taxes"! Boehner has made the move to meet in the middle, but now the Dem's are backing up the "goal post"...

"If we just give millionaires and billionaires more tax cuts they'll create millions of jobs, the deficit and debt will be eliminated, there'll be world peace, dogs and cats will lie down together, .....".

As to the responses to your remark, you have 4 negative votes.

And you can bet that not a one of those voting are millionaries. In fact, probably living mostly from hand to mouth on not a lot of money.

The sequestration legislation that will kick in January 1 does provide for defense cuts, but they are not as big as that editorial statement would have us believe. I believe it was in a George Will column where I read that the defense cuts were on the order of 8 percent. There is enough bloat and waste in the defense budget that you can cut 8 percent and still maintain sufficient readiness.

With U.S. presence in Afghanistan winding down, it ought to be easy to find 8 percent.

I say bring on the fiscal cliff. It is the only plan that implements real spending cuts.

Did you ever think he has nothing but negative votes because what he wrote made absolutely ZERO sense?

Boehner's proposal included raising taxes on MILLIONAIRES. Anyone making over a million dollars a year. But Obama wanted to raise taxes on anyone making over 250k. Then he change a little and said 400k. But as the report states, he campaigned on making millionaires and billionaires pay their "Fair share". Pelosi did say in April last year their goal was to make millionaire pay more, but that isn't good enough for them now. After the election, they want more and more.

Techfan's comment "If we just give millionaires and billionaires more tax cuts they'll create millions of jobs, the deficit and debt will be eliminated, there'll be world peace, dogs and cats will lie down together, .....". This comment makes no sense at all, when the republicans have offered to raise taxes on millionaires, they just don't want to go lower on the income scale.

It is extremely difficult to have a debate/discussion/argument or whatever you want to call it, with people who do nothing but LIE constantly to further their agenda. The left absolutely lies about everything, and thats a fact.

If you're discussing the fiscal cliff, they lie about what the right has proposed. They lie about their wasteful spending to make it seem not so bad. If you're debating gay marriage, they can't back their beliefs so they just call us bigots, which is a LIE. If you're debating abortion, they can't honestly back their barbaric beliefs, so they call us sexists who care nothing about womens health, which is a complete LIE!! If you're debating wellfare reform, voter I.D, entitlement spending, they can't honestly justify their position, so they throw the race card out there, calling us racists, which is a complete LIE!!

If you're debating the war on Christianity (Christmas included), they LIE and say there is no attack on Christianity. The big "Nothing to see here people." They LIE and say this Country wasn't founded on Judeo Christian philosophy, when the vast majority of our laws, including bankruptcy, were base upon Biblical guidelines. They use ridiculous articles such a the Treaty of Tripoli to back their opinions. So they would rather use a Treaty written to a muslim Country, to back their opinions, rather than use OUR documents addressed to THIS COUNTRY.

Just like the debate I was having yesterday about Christmas, when this person stated "Christmas has absolutely nothing to do with Christ." and then stated Christians hijacked Christmas a long time ago. With such ludacris lies, how do you have an honest debate with these people? How do you actually try to work with people who have the agenda to lie about any and everything to further their agenda? The answer is that you can't. You can't have an honest debate about ANYTHING, including the fiscal cliff, with someone who is a LIAR!!

is what i got from Techfan@7:14am and dahreese@9:09am..So maybe that's why they got those thumbs down..WHATEVER!!

dahreese@9:09am wrote-As of this response to your remark, you have 4 negative votes.
And you can bet that not a one of those voting are millionaries. In fact, probably living mostly from hand to mouth on not a lot of money.
And a closed mind.

Tots-
I'm not closed minded but i do live frugally,some have even called me a tight ---...

Dahreese....I'm not a millionaire, but I also don't believe in treating them unfairly because of it. That is known as wealth envy....wanting the wealthy to shoulder ALL of the tax burden violates equal protection. You may see this as "closed minded", but I see someone who thinks you can only have compassion for someone if you belong to that group as selfish.

while we are talking if obumler got his way roughly 100 billion a year in a perfect world with his tax increase..and any sane person knows that higher taxes does curb economic activities. that 100 billion is less, way less than 10 percent ot the debt obumler has run up each year since hes been campaigner n chief. we keep kicking the can down the road...we are broke and going broker each second we post. i am personally in favor of going over the cliff instead of getting a bad deal..and theres not even a hint of a idea that truly reforms our fiscal problems...yes it will hurt but the hurt is coming anyway..perhaps it will force us to do the right things now and force ALL our citizens to sacfrifice, change their behaviours and grow up...all we are doing is asking those who make the economy work to do more for those who take..as thatcher said socialism is great til your neighbor is broke...folks we are broke..its got to be fixed no more santa claus, no more easter bunny and no more freebees. we got to do it now for our children.

It's hard to negoitiate with a president who keeps moving the goal post. The arrogant communist killed the first "grand bargain" with this tactic and now that Boehner agreed to tax increases on the uber-rich Obama has reneged on his agreement to a "solution that includes both". Obama has DOUBLED the amount of tax increases and is offering NO immediate spending cuts.

The party causing the problems with negotiations is NOT the Republicans. It's our lying, arrogant president that refuses to bring spending cuts to the table and has doubled up on the amount of tax increases. Of course, Techfan has ALWAYS been "fact challenged".

Obama killed the first "grand bargain" a year ago with this same tactic of moving the goal post. I hope he has killed any agreement here too. Boehner should pass the $800 billion tax increase and associated spending cuts, send it to the Senate, tell the public "we gave Obama what he asked for during his campaign", and send Congress home for Christmas. The Republicans have nothing to lose. It ain't like the Democrats are going to fall in love with us for caving in to Obama. Let's go over the cliff and get some spending cuts.

Democrats like Techfan define negotiation as being when the other side capitulates. Republicans put immediate TAX increases for everyone making $1 million on the table. WHERE ARE THE DEMOCRAT IMMEDIATE SPENDING CUTS? That pretty well shuts Techfan up about "tax breaks for millionaires" and I will be waiting for his response about the matching immediate spending cuts the Democrats are offering.

Fifty-three percent of those surveyed say they view the policies of the GOP as too extreme, up 17 points from two years ago. Only 37% say they view the polices of the Democratic Party as too extreme.

It probably doesn't help that House Speaker John Boehner, who's leading GOP fiscal cliff negotiations with the president, is held in fairly low regard, particularly in comparison to Obama. According to the poll, 34% of the public approves of how the top Republican in the House handling his job. By contrast, the president's approval rating stands at 52%.

No, I'm not for ending welfare nor healthcare. And if you would think beyond your nose and consider the consequences of ending those programs you wouldn't end them either.

I have worked for what I have and am comfortable. But unlike some of you good christians (little c intended), I don't begrudge those who have not been as fortunate and who need welfare and social security to live on.

Too many christians go to church and sing "Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight", until it comes to money.

The Fear of God~

If you should rise from Nowhere up to Somewhere,
From being No one up to being Someone,
Be sure to keep repeating to yourself
You owe it to an arbitrary god
Whose mercy to you rather than to others
Won’t bear to critical examination.
Stay unassuming. If for lack of license
To wear the uniform of who you are,
You should be tempted to make up for it
In a subordinating look or tone,
Beware of coming too much to the surface
And using for apparel what was meant
To be the curtain of the inmost soul.

And a majority of those polled ALSO say we need to cut spending.....a proposal that the President absolutely refuses to put on the table. Makes you wonder how he gets that approval rating if he refuses to do the one thing that the majority of Americans agree must be done to save the economy.